Server-side website programming first steps

In this, our first server-side programming module, we answer a few fundamental questions about server-side programming — "what is it?", "how does it differs from client-side programming?", and "why it is so useful?". We then provide an overview of some of the more popular server-side web frameworks , along with guidance on how to select the most suitable for framework for creating your first site. Lastly we provide a high-level introductory article about web server security.

Prerequisites

Before starting this module you don't need to have any knowledge of server-side website programming, or indeed any other type of programming.

You will need to understand "how the web works". We recommend that you first read the following topics:

Guides

Welcome to the MDN beginner's server-side programming course! In this first article we look at Server-side programming from a high level, answering questions such as "what is it?", "how does it differ from client-side programming?", and "why it is so useful?". After reading this article you'll understand the additional power available to websites through server-side coding.

Now that you know the purpose and potential benefits of server-side programming we're going to examine in detail what happens when a server receives a "dynamic request" from a browser. As most website server-side code handles requests and responses in similar ways, this will help you understand what you need to do when writing your own code.

The last article showed you what a server-side web application needs to do in order to respond to requests from a web browser. Now we show how web frameworks can simplify these tasks, and help you choose the right framework for your first server-side web application.

Website security requires vigilance in all aspects of website design and usage. This introductory article won't make you a website security guru, but it will help you understand the first important steps you can take to harden your web application against the most common threats.

Assessments

This "overview" module doesn't have any assessement because we haven't yet shown you any code. We do hope at this point you have a good understanding of what sorts of functionality you can deliver using server-side programming and you have made a decision about what server-side web framework you will use to create your first website.